MTN Nigeria nearly doubles staff earning ₦2.4 million monthly in 2025

MTN Nigeria nearly doubled the number of employees earning at least ₦2.4 million ($1,772.57) monthly in 2025, underscoring an aggressive compensation strategy shaped by inflation, talent flight, and a rebound in industry revenue.

According to its full-year financial report released on Thursday, the number of staff in the highest salary band rose to 659 in 2025, a 97.3% jump from a year earlier. These employees earned at least ₦29.5 million annually, roughly ₦2.4 million monthly.

The expansion came despite only modest overall headcount growth, with total employees rising to 2,001 from 1,912 in 2024.

The sharp rise signals a deliberate shift in pay structure. Rather than significantly expanding its workforce, MTN is concentrating resources on high-value and specialised roles across network operations, digital services, AI-driven platforms, cloud infrastructure, and customer experience. 

The strategy reflects an intensifying battle for scarce technical and managerial talent, as telecom operators compete not only with one another but also with fintechs and foreign employers.

The company’s latest disclosures show that growth at the top end was accompanied by a contraction in some mid-tier salary bands. 

In 2025, the number of employees earning between ₦14.5 million ($10,709) and ₦17.5 million ($12,925) annually dropped sharply by 70%, falling to 126 from 421 in 2024.

Similarly, staff earning between ₦19.5 million ($14,402) and ₦24.5 million ($18,095) annually declined by nearly 50%, decreasing to 293 from 448 the previous year.

The redistribution suggests a restructuring of MTN’s pay pyramid through promotions, salary upgrades, and role reclassifications that shifted more employees into the upper compensation bracket.

MTN has long positioned itself as one of Nigeria’s highest-paying employers. As of 2024, more than 84% of its workforce earned at least ₦1 million monthly, with entry-level compensation significantly above the national average. The company says it has also integrated retention tools such as an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) and enhanced performance-based incentives.

Several structural factors are driving the rise in telecom pay. Nigeria’s inflation rate, which peaked above 30% in late 2024 and remained in double-digit territory through 2025, significantly eroded purchasing power, prompting top-tier companies to introduce inflation allowances and broad-based salary reviews, in some cases exceeding 50%, to stabilise their workforce. 

At the same time, the “Japa” phenomenon – the migration of skilled professionals abroad in search of better-paying opportunities – continues to drain talent from Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. This has intensified a talent war for engineers and developers skilled in 5G, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. 

A 2024 report by Boston Consulting Group, The Network, The Stepstone Group, and local partner The African Talent Company (TATC) found that 64% of Nigerian professionals are actively seeking jobs abroad, compared with a global average of 23%.

Telecom companies are increasingly leaning on competitive pay packages, stock ownership plans, and clearly defined career paths to retain talent and prevent attrition to overseas employers or fast-growing fintech firms. 

This focus on compensation has been reinforced by improved industry fundamentals. After posting losses in 2024 due to steep foreign exchange devaluation, operators secured regulatory approval for a 50% tariff increase in early 2025, boosting service revenues and overall profitability.

MTN Nigeria’s 2025 results reflect this recovery, with service revenue surging 55.1% year‑on‑year to ₦5.2 trillion ($3.84 billion) and total revenue rising 54.9% from ₦3.36 trillion ($2.48 billion).

Growth was driven by strong performance across data, voice, fintech, and digital services, creating the financial capacity to sustain higher wage bills and reward top performers.